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Had people to stay. They meant well but the two males - the dad and the kid - in their own way lacked boundaries. He was very nervous and unhappy and shared all sorts of details of his private life and difficulties with wife, who was also staying. The kid was just a kid but particularly noisy and became quite attached and physical to us - again not in a nasty way. Anyway, it was all quite tiring. But it feels awful to review people negatively for just being themselves. How have other people got around this as a flag to other hosts?
I’ve never left a bad review for people being themselves even if I didn’t like them. This may not be the best approach, but I try to be understanding of people’s personalities and intents. Maybe I just haven’t run into a guest like yours.
That being said, I got a not completely positive review from a guest regarding the behavior of my dog who was terrified of her obnoxious child. All my dog did was lay in the corner when the kid was around. He never made a peep, sudden movement, or anything that would be considered outside of the normal motions of stuffed animal. It was so hard to read that review saying my dog was ‘not good with children’ and such. Now, I know my story is from the side of the reviewee and from a hosting standpoint, and also no about a human, but you can see what non-pleasant reviews of personality can mean to people.
Some people just have exhausting personalities - it sounds like the Dad and kid really seemed to gravitate to you, and felt very comfortable around you? If they respected all your house rules, etc., I likely wouldn’t leave a review at all.
I know you said the kid was a bit noisy, but I am guessing that most hosts who allow kids in a shared home…they are going to expect to get the once in a while loud kid who isn’t the most disciplined. The short stay will pass and on to the next guest.
Now if you have reason to believe these guests are using Air to find long term shared housing…then maybe leave a review. But if they are just using it for a few days to travel I wouldn’t feel any need to have to warn hosts if they are just “clingy.”
Remember that the reason we write reviews isn’t for the guest, but for other hosts. Don’t worry about ‘upsetting’ guests who you feel deserve an honest review - even if they see it (and not all guests do) you don’t need to spare their feelings because you don’t want them back anyway.
All you have to say is that they weren’t a good fit for you.
Just have to ask how this helps the next host considering these guests? If it was me, I’d just get curious about what the issue was and decline, when they might be model guests in a non-shared space. It does say volumes about the host, however.
There will always be guests who don’t get on with their hosts for a variety of reasons and it’s no-one’s fault. Often, it’s just because we all have different personalities and little ways. For example, some people like to socialise with their guests, others like to leave then alone. Both ways are fine.
I’ve had several guests who have just rubbed me up the wrong way but it’s not their fault, it’s just that we are all different.There hasn’t really been anything wrong with them - we just didn’t gel. I’m sure that the feeling was mutual.
But others might think they are wonderful people so I prefer to say that they guests weren’t a fit for us. That doesn’t mean that they won’t be fine with other hosts but it still gives a mild advance notice to prospective hosts.
How about putting a positive spin on the review, but still let potential hosts know what to expect?
If I were the guest and felt that I had formed a bit of a bond with you and shared quite a bit I would be quite hurt to read anything negative.
What about saying “We had many long talks with xxxx. Hosts that love to interact with their guests will find lots to talk about. Their energetic son xxxx is very cuddly and the house felt empty when he left.”
The guests would likely take that as a compliment, but hosts that don’t like to talk a lot or want out of control children would pick up on those statements… hopefully.
I agree with @Canadianhost completely, if you spin your language in just the right way, your guests will think you loved them, and future hosts will react to whatever triggers them.
Also, I would add something in your description that might prevent future (wordy) guests from monopolizing your time. Maybe something like “we work from home, so our time is not always our own. We enjoy conversations with our guests, however, sometimes we are not able to chat for long due to our work. We appreciate your understanding.”
Yes, guests don’t always read the descriptions, but it doesn’t hurt to set their expectations appropriately.
